Tag Archive | goals

Focusing and Goals

Jan8

Questionmark-240x300January 2, 2014 I had my first training session of the year with my trainer and while we were discussing some of my grand scheme goals, the idea of what do I really want to accomplish came up during the session. Before the year started, I already had a running goal in mind. I also had some ideas of things I wanted to accomplish otherwise as well. But now, I need to figure those goals out concretely and figure out a plan of attack.

I suppose the number one goal is to get to the number I have been “dreaming” about on the scale. I’m much closer than I was at the start of last year. And while I should have met that number last year, I’m ok that it didn’t happen. It was aggressive to meet but now I think it can happen.

At my session, we were kind of brainstorming some things I should try to do this year. For instance, one of the things is to go shopping for clothing that is not workout related. I hate shopping and I really desperately need to buy some clothes that fit. Just about everything I own is way too big. However given my past shopping experiences I always dread it because while I may be smaller, things still never fit. So it is beyond frustrating to shop for something new. However, I should probably try to not look like a slob when I am not working out. Continue reading →

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November 16, 2013

Dec30

For most, 11/16/2013 is not a special date. However, for me, I’m going to remember it as the day that I made the first step in changing my life. That was the day that I got certified to be a SPIN instructor. How all of this came about was months in the making, but certification day seems the right time to say it all changed.

How did it all begin? Well, I work out a lot as you probably know if you’ve read any past posts on here. And as part of that, I am always trying to find new ways to challenge myself. One of the things I do to cross-train is take Spinning® classes as my primary thing other than running. They both rank pretty high on my list of things to do.

Anyway, 2013 was the year that I was going to finish the marathon and as preparation for that, I decided I needed to start training to run 26.2 early so I decided to train for a spring half marathon. That meant running in the terrible winter months of February and March. Continue reading →

A Fatty Tale

May29

20130528-193921.jpgI work out. A lot. I go through spurts of doing nothing and then get crazy and try to do too much to make up for my lack of nothing. Lately however, I have been on a streak where I have done something every day. I haven’t stopped doing something since the day after Turkey Day 2011. You would think that after doing all of that working out, I’d be as thin as a toothpick.

You’d be wrong. In fact, I am by all intents, purposes and definitions obese. Well, maybe not obese but definitely overweight. Why? Because at times I have eaten like complete crap and while you can exercise to your heart’s content and even so much that you pass out (I’ve kind of had that happen) unless you clean up your diet, you will be overweight. It doesn’t help when you end up using food for comfort when all other things in life are going as badly as possible. And it also doesn’t help when for so many cultures, food is a way to show affection for people. If you go somewhere and don’t eat, then it is viewed as an insult. Sometimes not eating is just because you aren’t hungry and can’t stomach another bite, but you will eat anyway so as not to offend others.  Continue reading →

Adjusting

Feb9

I start training in earnest on Monday. I am planning on running about nine races this year and the first really big ones are in May – the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon and the Soldier Field 10-miler. I have a race before those and I’ve already done a couple this year so far. However, I’m really excited about those races. Both races will allow me to run at some amazing football fields. Additionally, I get to express my inner sports meatball and wear Packers attire for both races. At Lambeau it will be feel right. At Soldier Field, it will just annoy Bears fans and I’m all about poking them.

running shoesAnyway, last week I got my training schedule and it caused a mini panic for me. HOW was I going to fit in all the working out I do along with the added running that would need to happen so I can smash my previous best half marathon time. I knew I was going to need help, so I emailed my trainer with the schedule. She was thrilled to see there were planned rest days because right now, I’ve been working out for over 430 days without taking a true rest day. I just have easier days where I will just do yoga, but I always have to be doing something.

The group I am training with has two different programs for the half marathon training. One that involves taking one rest day a week and another that has a total of maybe five rest days through the entire process. Since the Green Bay Half will be my ninth half marathon, I figured I should probably do the advanced program. But then I had this fear of will that make sense if I choose to run / walk it? Why can’t I just run the entire time? Then I started to wonder if maybe, just maybe I could run this race in under 2:05 because that would mean I could do something else later in the year. Seriously, why not? Continue reading →

Personal Demons

Oct9

My body hates me. Or at least refuses to cooperate when it comes to me doing certain things. Today, that thing was the Chicago Marathon. Temperatures were higher than anyone wanted. I could deal with them though. It was cooler than when I started, yet I would have loved for it to be much cooler than it was. Things did heat up as the day went along. Way too much for my tastes.

Things didn’t really start off the best in the race. For some reason, my heel and ankle on my right foot were bothering me early on. I probably had indication of this yesterday when I did an easy two-mile run as my last run before the big race. I had a twinge of something yesterday, but was chalking it up to last-minute nerves and stress. I really felt that thing would be fantastic on race day. Continue reading →